Efficient work flow system and method for preparing tax returns

ABSTRACT

A processor-based method for preparing a tax return using multiple service providers. The method includes receiving at a first service provider an image file that includes a plurality of data values and assigning at the first service provider the image file to a form having a plurality of predefined field names, wherein each of the plurality data values belong to one of the plurality of predefined field names. The method also includes receiving at a second service provider the image file and an input form having a plurality of input fields corresponding to the plurality of predefined field names and associating at the second service provider the plurality of data values from the image file with the plurality of input fields.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit andpriority of application Ser. No. 11/031,060, entitled “EFFICIENT WORKFLOW SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PREPARING TAX RETURNS,” filed Jan. 7, 2005,which is assigned to the assignee hereof and hereby expresslyincorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The invention relates generally to preparing tax returns, and moreparticularly to an efficient work flow system and method for preparingtax returns.

BACKGROUND

Source documents (e.g., W-2s, Settlement Statements, 1099s, K-1s, etc.)are received from many different sources such as employers,partnerships, investment firms, charities, and so on, and are used toprepare tax returns. Source documents may also be referred to as taxdocuments. These source documents may be submitted to a person whoprepares tax returns for individuals and businesses. The person whoprepares these tax returns, generally referred to as a tax preparer, hasa high level of skill due to the intricacies and nuances of the internalrevenue service's (IRS's) tax code and the knowledge required toaccurately prepare tax returns. Even using a tax software product, thetax preparer must have specialized training and expertise to navigatethough the tax software product and to interpret information containedon the source documents. Therefore, each tax return generally requires adifferent level of skill to accurately complete. For example, a taxreturn with only W-2 and 1099 source documents requires the tax preparerto have less skill than a tax return with W-2, settlement statement, andschedule C business income source documents. Accordingly, due to thevariations in skill required to prepare a tax return, the tax preparermust have a wide range of knowledge and experience with tax returnpreparation.

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a prior art method of preparinga tax return using only one tax preparer. Each tax return (e.g., TR 1,TR 2, etc.) is prepared by one tax preparer who sequentially reviewseach source document, and then prepares the tax return using dataobtained from each source document. For example, the tax preparerreviews the W-2, settlement statement, and 1099 source documents for thefirst tax return and then enters data obtained from the source documentsinto the first tax return to prepare the first tax return. Thereafter,the tax preparer reviews the W-2, settlement statement, and 1099 sourcedocuments for the second tax return and then enters data obtained fromthe source documents into the second tax return to prepare the secondtax return and so on. Hence, each tax return is prepared in series usingonly one tax preparer at a time.

For several reasons, the preparation of a tax return was accomplishedwhen one person at a time (as opposed to multiple people simultaneously)prepared the entire tax return. First, the source documents aretraditionally in paper format and only reside with one tax preparer at atime. The tax preparer can make copies and distribute them to multipletax preparers, however, this increases the time spent preparing each taxreturn. For example, additional time is spent photocopying anddistributing the source documents, tracking who is working with thesource documents, and merging work performed by each person into the taxreturn.

Second, because the hard copy nature of the source documents promotedsingle person preparation, currently available tax software products(e.g., Turbo Tax, Tax Cut, ProSystem a Tax, GoSystem Tax, Lacerte,UltraTax, ProSeries, etc.) only support one person entering data into atax return at a time. For example, conventional tax software productsrequire the tax preparer to select and open a single tax return. Then,the tax preparer gathers all the source documents, reviews the sourcedocuments, and inputs information from the source documents into the taxreturn. The tax preparer moves from one source document to the nextuntil all the information for a specific tax return has been entered.Then, the tax preparer can move to the next tax return. Therefore, it istechnically impossible to have multiple people simultaneously enter datainto a single tax return because currently available tax softwareproducts only support one person entering data into a tax return at atime.

Another drawback of conventional tax preparation systems and methods isthat the tax preparer must have a high level of expertise to prepare themore complicated portions of the tax return. However, these expertiseare wasted on the less complicated portions of the tax return.Accordingly, the tax preparer's knowledge and skills are not fullyutilized during preparation of an entire tax return.

Accordingly, it should be appreciated that there is a need for anefficient work flow system and method for preparing tax returns bymultiple people who have varying skill levels. The invention fulfillsthis need as well as others.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention allows the source documents to be scanned in to produceone or more image files or electronic source documents, which can besimultaneously sent to multiple service providers. The service providersmay be a computer system (e.g., a software process or routine), a person(e.g., a data entry operator, a tax preparer, and a referencer) and/orany other person or system involved in the preparation of the taxreturns. In one embodiment, each electronic source document includes taxdocuments pertaining to a single tax return for a business or a singleperson or group of people. The invention allows for the distribution ofthe electronic source document and related input forms to one or moreservice providers, the management of the work flow amongst multipleservice providers, the monitoring of the work loads of the serviceproviders, the preparation of the tax return by multiple serviceproviders, and the completion of the tax returns. The service providersmay simultaneously prepare portions of one or more tax returns.

Some advantages of the invention may include increasing the total numberof tax returns prepared in a given time period by having the taxpreparer only spend time on the more complicated portions of the taxreturn and by having a service provider, with less skill than the taxpreparer, simultaneously access the less complicated portions of the taxreturn. Hence, while the tax preparer is working on the more complicatedportions of the tax return, the lower skilled, lower paid serviceprovider may be working on the less complicated portions of the taxreturn. Therefore, the tax preparer's knowledge and skills are fullyutilized during preparation of each tax return.

The increased productivity and reduced preparation costs areparticularly important during tax season when accounting firms have anincreased work load. During tax season, accounting firms can hire orutilize lower skilled, lower paid service providers who can moreefficiently and effectively assist in the preparation of tax returnsbecause they do not need the high level of skill required to prepare atax return but rather only need the skills or training to enter datainto specified data entry fields. For example, an accounting firm canhire seasonal data entry operators instead of additional tax preparerswho are difficult to find and hire during tax season. These seasonaldata entry operators are easier to find and more economical to use thanhighly qualified, trained, and experienced tax preparers.

One embodiment of the invention includes a processor-based method forpreparing a tax return using multiple service providers. The methodincludes receiving at a first service provider an image file thatincludes a plurality of data values (e.g., numbers, text, dates,amounts, or other defining data elements) and assigning at the firstservice provider the image file to a form having a plurality ofpredefined field names, wherein each of the plurality of data valuesbelong to one of the plurality of predefined field names. The methodalso includes receiving at a second service provider the image file andan input form having a plurality of input fields corresponding to theplurality of predefined field names and associating at the secondservice provider the plurality of data values from the image file withthe plurality of input fields.

One embodiment of the invention includes a processor-based method forpreparing a tax return using a plurality of service providers. Themethod may include receiving an electronic source document or image filehaving a plurality of data values, associating the electronic sourcedocument with an input form containing a number of input fields relatedto the plurality of data values on the electronic source document, andplacing, using a first service provider, a reference adjacent to each ofthe plurality of data values. The method may also include extracting,using a second service provider, the plurality of data values that areadjacent to the references, creating a tax return using the plurality ofdata values, and creating a set of fully-cross referenced work papers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The exact nature of this invention, as well as the objects andadvantages thereof, will become readily apparent from consideration ofthe following specification in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings in which like reference numerals designate like partsthroughout the figures thereof and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a prior art method of preparinga tax return using only one tax preparer;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a computer system having asoftware program for preparing tax returns using multiple serviceproviders according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of a method of preparing taxreturns using multiple service providers according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of a computer network including aplurality of computer systems used by a plurality of service providersfor preparing tax returns according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a simplified flow diagram illustrating a method for preparingtax returns using multiple service providers according to an embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 6 is a graphical user interface (GUI) illustrating a view area fordisplaying a page of the electronic source document and a forms area fordisplaying a plurality of form types corresponding to a plurality offorms according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a page of the electronic source document, as seen by areferencer, illustrating a W-2 source document from ABC INC according toan embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a page of the electronic source document, as seen by a taxpreparer or a data entry operator, illustrating a W-2 source documentfrom ABC INC according to an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 9 is a page of the electronic source document, as seen by a taxpreparer, illustrating a W-2 source document from ABC INC according toan embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made to the preferred embodiments of theinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction with thepreferred embodiments, it will be understood that these embodiments arenot intended to limit the scope of the invention. On the contrary, theinvention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications andequivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims. In the following detaileddescription, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will beunderstood by one skilled in the art that the invention may be practicedwithout these specific details. In other instances, well known systems,components, methods and procedures have not been described in detail soas not to unnecessarily obscure the important features of the invention.As will be appreciated, various embodiments of the invention aredescribed herein and shown in the figures. The term link and referencemay be used interchangeably in certain instances in this disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a computer system 200 having asoftware program for preparing income tax returns using multiple serviceproviders. The computer system 200 (e.g., a personal computer, hand-helddevice or workstation) may include a digital computer 202, a displayscreen 204, a keyboard 206, a mouse 208 or other pointing device, astorage device 210 (e.g., a hard disk drive, optical disk drive,magnetic disk drive or floppy disk drive), and a scanner 212. Thedigital computer 202 may include a processor 214, a memory 216 (e.g.,RAM, ROM or cache), and other customary components (e.g., memory bus andperipheral bus). The software program is generally stored in the storagedevice 210 or in the memory 216 and is executed by the processor 214. Inone embodiment, the electronic source documents and the tax returns arestored in the storage device 210 or in the memory 216. The softwareprogram can also be implemented using hardware, software or acombination of hardware and software. The storage device 210 can bereferred to as a machine-readable medium, which may be any mechanismthat provides (i.e., stores and/or transmits) information in a formreadable by the digital computer 202 (e.g., the processor 214). Forexample, the machine-readable medium may be a read only memory (ROM), arandom access memory (RAM), a cache, a hard disk drive, a floppy diskdrive, a magnetic disk storage media, an optical storage media, a flashmemory device or any other device capable of storing information. Thestorage device 210 may include a database 218 that can be used to store,arrange and retrieve data from the storage device 210.

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram 300 of a method of preparing taxreturns (e.g., TR 1, TR 2, etc.) using multiple service providers 305,310, and 315. When preparing a tax return, some tasks performed by aservice provider are relatively easy and some tasks are relativelydifficult. That is, the degree of skill needed to prepare one portion ofa tax return varies from another portion of a tax return. For example, atax return with only W-2 and 1099 source documents requires the serviceprovider to have less skill than a tax return with W-2, sale ofresidence, schedule C business income, capital gains/losses, and 1099source documents. Therefore, to have one very skilled tax preparer(e.g., a certified public accountant (CPA), enrolled agent (EA), orother trained tax professional) prepare an entire tax return isinefficient because some of the tasks can be performed by lower paid,lower skilled service providers, such as data entry operators, thusfreeing up the tax preparer's time for performing more complex tasks.Also, having multiple people with varying skill levels prepare specificportions of a tax return can be more efficient for the tax preparer andmore cost effective for the tax payer.

As shown in FIG. 3, each tax return includes various source documents.As an example, the source documents for TR 1 include a W-2, sale ofresidence, 1099-NT, business income, 1099-DIV, and capital gains/lossesdocument. Generally, the tax preparer works on one tax return at a timebut allows one or more service providers to work on a subset of thesource documents (such as all W-2 and 1099 source documents) related tothe tax return the tax preparer is working on or to another tax return.For example, to efficiently complete TR 1, the tax preparer can work onthe sale of residence, business income, and capital gains/lossesdocuments while allowing a first service provider 305 to access andinput information related to the W-2 source document, a second serviceprovider 310 to access and input information related to 1099-INT sourcedocument, and a third service provider 315 to access and inputinformation related to 1099-DIV source document.

Once the first service provider 305 has completed the W-2, he can workon another W-2 for the same tax return if one exists or work on anotherW-2 for a different tax return. Even though the tax preparer is workingon one of the source documents for TR 1, service provider 305 may beworking on a W-2 for TR 2, service provider 310 may be working on a1099-INT for TR 1, and service provider 315 may be working on a 1099-DIVfor TR 3. Hence, one or more service providers generally work on one taxdocument at a time, and then move to the next tax document irrespectiveof whether it is from the same tax return or not. The tax preparergenerally works on one tax return at a time before moving on to the nexttax return. This allows one or more service providers to specialize onone or more tax document types and thus complete the tax return in ashorter amount of time. The extent of specialization for each serviceprovider (i.e., whether a data entry operator just works on a singlesource document type such as W-2s or works on multiple document typessuch as W-2s and 1099s) is configurable depending on the size of the taxpreparation operation. For example, larger tax preparation operationstend to have greater specialization because they have more data entryoperators and more volume.

Information related to these source documents can be input by a lowerskilled data entry operator, thus freeing up more time for the moreskilled tax preparer to input information related to the sale ofresidence, business income, and capital gains/losses source documents.In this example, each service provider is responsible for learning andinputting information related to a different source document. Therefore,each service provider needs to have a limited number of skills tocomplete its tasks for particular source documents. Once the informationis input by the lower skilled data entry operators, the tax preparer isnotified that the information has been input for TR 1. Each serviceprovider can operate at its own speed in completing its assigned tasks,thus allowing multiple service providers to simultaneously work on thesame tax return. The tax preparer determines which source documentsshould be accessible by the lower skilled service providers.

FIG. 4 is a simplified block diagram of a computer network 400 includinga plurality of computer systems 200A-200D used by a plurality of serviceproviders (i.e., referencer, data entry operator #1, and data entryoperator #2) for preparing portions of tax returns. The computer network400 also includes a server 405 having a memory 410 used to store theelectronic source documents, the tax returns, and other documentsrelated to the tax returns. The plurality of computer systems 200A-200Dare coupled via a network (e.g., the Internet) to the server 405.

The computer system 200A generally controls the work flow amongst theother computer systems 200B-200D. For example, a tax preparer usingcomputer system 200A can allow one or more service providers using oneor more computer systems 200B-D the ability to retrieve, input, edit,and save information to and from the memory 410. Similarly, the taxpreparer using computer system 200A can retrieve, input, edit, and saveinformation to and from the memory 410.

FIG. 5 is a simplified flow diagram 500 illustrating a method forpreparing tax returns using multiple service providers. The methodallows a person or computer system to divide the preparation of a taxreturn into units of work based on the level of skill needed to performthe unit of work. Each unit of work can be performed by a highly skilledworker or assigned to a service provider with a skill level commensuratewith the level of skill needed to perform the unit of work. Hence, themethod allows the highly skilled worker to manage and assign aparticular unit of work to a particular service provider or group ofservice providers. The method reduces the amount of time a highlyskilled worker is working on easy tasks and increases the amount of timethe highly skilled worker is working on difficult tasks. The methodmatches the skill level of the unit of work to the skill level of theservice provider and allows multiple service providers to simultaneouslywork on the preparation of a tax return.

Source documents are generally in the form of paper documents that arereceived by a tax payer shortly after the end of each calendar year.Upon receipt by the tax payer, the source documents are forwarded to atax preparer for review and preparation of a tax return. To allow thetax preparer the ability to electronically access, manage and work onthe source documents using the computer system 100A, the sourcedocuments can be scanned in to produce an image file or an electronicsource document, such as a portable document format (PDF) document orfile, using the scanner 212. Generally, each electronic source documentincludes tax documents pertaining to a single tax return. Once scannedin, the electronic source document can be stored in the memory 410(S-502) and pages of the electronic source document can besimultaneously accessed and viewed by multiple service providers frommultiple locations to facilitate the efficient preparation of a taxreturn.

The electronic source document allows multiple service providers to workon the tax return from anywhere at anytime. The electronic sourcedocument is typically arranged as a sequence of individual pages whereeach page can have objects, such as text, graphics, images, colorspaces, annotations, and so on. A document viewing software program,such as Adobe Acrobat from Adobe Systems Incorporated of San Jose,Calif., can be used to view the pages of the electronic source document.In one embodiment, the tax preparer causes the computer system 200A todisplay one or more pages of the electronic source document.

FIG. 6 is a graphical user interface (GUI) 600 illustrating a documentview area 602 for displaying a page 604 of the electronic sourcedocument and a forms view area 606 for displaying a plurality of formtypes 608 corresponding to a plurality of forms (S-504). The taxpreparer views the page 604 of the electronic source document, andselects a form type 608 corresponding to the page 604 being displayed inthe document view area 602 (S-506). Alternatively, the computer system200A, using an optical character reader (OCR) system, can select theform type 608 by scanning the page 604. In the illustrated example, theform may be selected from the following: W-2, 1099-INT, 1099-DIV,1099-01D, TAX EXEMPT INTEREST, TAX EXEMPT DIVIDEND, SCH-D AttachmentSHORT TERM, SCH-D Attachment LONG TERM, K-1 FORM 1065, K-1 FORM 1120S,K-1 FORM 1041, FORM 1099-R (IRA), FORM 1099-R (PENSION), and so on.

Once the form type 608 has been selected, the tax preparer may input orif already input, may select a form name 610 identifying the page 604being displayed in the document view area 602 (S-508). The form name 610can be selected from a list of preexisting form names 610 or can beadded by inputting a form name 610 representing the form name desired.For a W-2 form type, the form name is generally the employer's name, fora 1099 form type, the form name is generally the payer's name, and for aK-1 form type, the form name is generally the partnership's name.Alternatively, the computer system 100, using an optical characterreader (OCR) system, can determine the form name 610 by scanning thepage 604. In the illustrated example, the W-2 form type 608 and the FLYBY NIGHT form name 610 have been selected because the displayed page 604is a FLY BY NIGHT W-2 document.

At S-509, the tax preparer determines whether a fully cross-referencedset of work papers is desired as the final work product (i.e., whetherto place references on the page 604 of the electronic source document).If not, the tax preparer determines whether to send the tax document toa data entry operator for inputting of data values (S-520). If so, thetax preparer determines at S-510 whether to send the tax document (i.e.,the page 604) to a referencer for referencing (S-512) or whether to keepthe tax document for referencing (S-514). In one embodiment, the taxpreparer may make this determination based on the form type 608. Forexample, if the form type 608 is a standard form (W-2, 1099, K-1, etc.),the tax document may be sent to the referencer. The tax preparergenerally allows the service providers to access the standard formsbecause a lower level of skill is needed to input information related tothese forms. If the form type 608 is a non-standard form (settlementstatement, statement of business income/loss, etc.), the tax documentmay be kept for referencing. Standard forms are forms that contain thesame set of data and non-standard forms are forms that do not containthe same set of data. For example, W-2 forms always have standard fieldssuch as Box 1—Wages, tips, and other compensation, Box 2—Federal incometax withheld, etc. No such standard fields exist for a statement ofbusiness income/loss, as such, these forms would not be considered astandard form for these purposes.

S-512 and S-514 are optional steps of placing references on the page(s)of the electronic source document. For standard forms, the data entryoperator or the referencer may place references 616 on the pages of theelectronic source document (S-512). For non-standard forms, the taxpreparer may place references 616 on the pages of the electronic sourcedocument (S-514). Once the location of the reference 616 is selected, apop-up window appears with the same descriptions as those in theelectronic source document. For example, the phrase “Box 1: Wages, Tipsand Other Compensation” is on both the page 604 and in the pop-up window(see FIG. 6). Hence, the lower skilled data entry operator can easilyselect the correct field name 614 from a list of field names 612.Referencing is performed for the purpose of creating a fullycross-referenced set of work papers as a final work product. Furtherdetails regarding referencing and the cross-referenced set of workpapers can be found in co-pending patent application Ser. No.10/903,637, filed Jul. 30, 2004, which is hereby incorporated byreference.

Once scanned in, tax return documents can be used to create a referencepage (e.g., table of contents, lead sheets, tax reconciliation pages,etc.) to assist the tax preparer in efficiently preparing and reviewingthe tax return. The reference page may include a column of amounts andreferences. A reference to the left of an amount means that the data iscoming from the page on the reference and a reference to the right of anamount means that the data is going to the page on the reference.Generally, the reference is shown as a block with a number inside theblock where the number indicates the page number that the informationhas been obtained from. The reference pages are used to assist the taxpreparer in efficiently checking the tax return documents for accuracyand completeness.

For standard forms, the form type 608 and/or the form name 610 of thepage to be referenced is placed in a referencing queue located in thememory 410. When a referencer is available to reference a page of theelectronic source document, the available referencer request access tothe next page of the electronic source document to be referenced bychecking the referencing queue. The referencer may then access thepage(s) of the electronic source document from the memory 410. FIG. 7 isa page 700 of the electronic source document, as seen by a referencer,illustrating a W-2 document from ABC INC. As shown in FIG. 7, thereferencer does not have the ability to view all the form types 608related to the tax return as shown in the forms view area 606 of FIG. 6.

Referencers may be assigned to one or more standard form types. Forexample, referencers may be assigned to a sub-set of standard formswhich increases efficiency because the referencers only need to know thedetails about that specific group of standard forms. In one embodiment,each referencer may be assigned to only one standard form (e.g., W-2forms). In this embodiment, each referencer only needs to know thedetails about one standard form, further increasing the efficiency ofplacing references on each page of the electronic source document.Alternatively, the tax preparer can act as the referencer and place thereferences on the page 604 of the electronic source document. After thereferencing is complete, the referencer may select a submit icon 705indicating to the tax preparer that the page of the electronic sourcedocument has been referenced.

FIG. 8 is a page 800 of the electronic source document, as seen by a taxpreparer or a data entry operator, illustrating a W-2 document from ABCINC. At S-520, the tax preparer can decide whether to perform the dataentry operations on the page 800 of the electronic source document (goto S-522) or submit the page 800 of the electronic source document to adata entry operator for performing the data entry operations (go toS-516). The tax preparer generally allows the service providers (e.g., adata entry operator) to access the page 800 of the electronic sourcedocument to input information related to these forms. In one embodiment,the form type 608 and/or the form name 610 of the page selected for dataentry is placed in a data entry queue located in the memory 410. When adata entry operator is available to enter data for a page of theelectronic source document, the available data entry operator requestaccess to the next page for data entry by checking the data entry queue.The data entry operator may then access the page(s) 800 of theelectronic source document from the memory 410.

The computer system 200 inserts, enables or displays the page of theelectronic source document and an input form 805 having a plurality ofinput fields 810 corresponding to the form type 608 (S-516, S-522). Thatis, based on the form type 805, the plurality of input fields 810 arepredetermined and are retrieved from the memory 410. The data entryoperator or the tax preparer inputs the numbers shown on the page 800into the corresponding input fields 810 on the input form 805 (S-518,S-524). The input fields 810 use the same descriptions as those in theelectronic source document. For example, the phrase “Box 1: Wages, Tipsand Other Compensation” is on both the page 800 and the input form 805.Hence, the lower skilled data entry operator can easily input thecorrect numbers from the page 800 into the corresponding input fields810. Alternatively, the OCR system scans the page and inserts theappropriate number into the corresponding input field 810 on the inputform 805. As shown in FIG. 8, the numbers input are 80000, 12000, 4960,and 1162. The references may also assist the OCR system in identifyingthe number corresponding to the input field 810. In one embodiment, oneor more data entry operators and/or one or more OCR systems may inputinformation for a particular page for verifying the accuracy of theinputted numbers. The data entry operator and/or the OCR system can movefrom one page of the electronic source document to another page of theelectronic source document or from one electronic source document toanother electronic source document. After data entry is complete and/orverified, the data entry operator may select a submit icon 815indicating to the tax preparer that the page of the electronic sourcedocument has been completed. The inputted information is then mergedinto the tax return.

FIG. 9 is a page of the electronic source document, as seen by a taxpreparer, illustrating a W-2 source document from ABC INC. The taxpreparer can now review the information for accuracy and completenessand check a box 905 indicating that the entry or number has beenreviewed (S-526). As shown in FIG. 9, the tax preparer has the abilityto view all the form types 608 related to the tax return as shown in theforms view area 606. Each data value input into the input fields 810 ismapped into a corresponding field of a tax return. The mapping allowsfor the creation of a completed tax return. The mapping of the datadepends on the tax software used to create the completed tax return. Forexample, some tax software has built-in import/export features to allowfor the mapping of data from one application to another.

Although exemplary embodiments of the invention has been shown anddescribed, many other changes, combinations, omissions, modificationsand substitutions, in addition to those set forth in the aboveparagraphs, may be made by one having skill in the art withoutnecessarily departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.Accordingly, the invention is not intended to be limited by thepreferred embodiments, but is to be defined by reference to the appendedclaims.

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A machine-readable medium that providesinstructions, which when read by a processor, cause the machine toperform operations comprising: receiving an electronic source documentcontaining a tax document; receiving a form type corresponding to thetax document; extracting a plurality of data values from the taxdocument to create a reference page; and populating a tax return withthe plurality of data values; and checking the tax return using thereference page.
 12. The machine-readable medium of claim 11 wherein thetax document is selected from a group consisting of a W-2 document, a1065 document, a 1098 document, a 1099 document, a K-1 document, aschedule C document, a schedule D document, a deductions document, acredit document, and a taxes paid/received document.
 13. Themachine-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the form type is selectedfrom a group consisting of a W-2 form, a 1065 form, a 1098 form, a 1099form, a K-1 form, a schedule C form, a schedule D form, a deductionsform, a credit form, and a taxes paid/received form.
 14. Themachine-readable medium of claim 11 wherein each of the plurality ofdata values belong to one of a plurality of predefined field namescorresponding to the form type.
 15. The machine-readable medium of claim14 wherein each of the plurality of predefined field names is selectedfrom a group consisting of income, expenses, gains, losses, deductions,taxes refunded, taxes paid, and credits.
 16. A machine-readable mediumthat provides instructions, which when read by a processor, cause themachine to perform operations comprising: receiving a tax documenthaving a plurality of data values; placing a reference adjacent to someeach of the plurality of data values; extracting the plurality of datavalues that are adjacent to the references to create a reference page;and creating a tax return using the plurality of data values; andchecking the tax return using the reference page.
 17. Themachine-readable medium of claim 16 further comprising selecting a formtype corresponding to the tax document.
 18. The machine-readable mediumof claim 16 wherein the placing the reference adjacent to each of theplurality of data values is performed by a first service provider. 19.The machine-readable medium of claim 16 wherein the extracting theplurality of data values that are adjacent to the references isperformed by a second service provider.
 20. The machine-readable mediumof claim 16 wherein the creating the tax return using the plurality ofdata values is performed by a third service provider.
 21. Aprocessor-based method for preparing a tax return using multiple serviceproviders comprising: receiving, at a computer, an image file thatincludes a plurality of data values; assigning, at the computer, theimage file and a first tax form from an electronic tax return documentto a first service provider, the first tax form having a plurality offirst input fields; assigning, at the computer, the image file and asecond tax form from the electronic tax return document to a secondservice provider, the second tax form having a plurality of second inputfields that are different from the plurality of first input fields;receiving, at the first service provider, the image file and the firsttax form; receiving, at the second service provider, the image file andthe second tax form; populating the plurality of first input fields withdata values from the image file using the first service provider;populating the plurality of second input fields with data values fromthe image file using the second service provider; allowing the firstservice provider and the second service provider to simultaneouslypopulate the electronic tax return document; and preparing, at thecomputer, a single tax return by combining the populated first andsecond input fields.
 22. The method of claim 21 wherein populating theplurality of first input fields with data values includes inputting adata value into each of the plurality of first input fields and whereinpopulating the plurality of second input fields with data valuesincludes inputting a data value into each of the plurality of secondinput fields.
 23. The method of claim 21 wherein the image file includesa plurality of source documents.
 24. The method of claim 21 wherein atleast one of the plurality of data values is selected from a groupconsisting of income, expenses, gains, losses, deductions, taxesrefunded, taxes paid, and credits.
 25. The method of claim 21 whereinthe first tax form and the second tax form are selected from a groupconsisting of a W-2 form, a 1065 form, a 1098 form, a 1099 form, a K-1form, a schedule C form, a schedule D form, a deductions form, a creditform, and a taxes paid/received form.